Thorndown Pre-School

Welcome

We would like to warmly welcome you and your child to Thorndown Pre-School. We understand that starting pre-school is a very exciting and important stage in your child’s life and look forward to building strong partnerships with you. We believe that, in order for children to reach their full potential, they must feel happy, valued, safe and secure. We aim to achieve this within a creative and stimulating environment, where children are encouraged to lead learning through play and exploration. Our practitioners are fully committed to supporting both you and your child; we truly believe each child is special and unique.

We have a wonderful outdoor area, with our own fruit trees and plenty of mud to play with in our outdoor kitchen. Indoors, you will find an inviting area, which allows children to discover, question, and investigate. You will often find children in the cosy reading area, sharing stories with an adult, or building huge bridges in the construction zone. Our team of dedicated staff are here to support both children and families and we love finding out what your children are interested in, to help us ensure that we plan exciting, engaging activities which support their learning

We are looking forward to getting to know you and your child.

Nicole Brace EYFS Team Leader

The Curriculum

Learning Through Play

At Thorndown Pre-School, we foster your child’s own interests and offer activities that extend, enrich and develop each individual child’s potential. We actively encourage ‘play’, more technically known as Child Initiated Learning. Through play, children develop intellectually, creatively, physically, socially and emotionally. Our setting uses Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage to plan and provide a range of playful activities. In some of these areas, children decide how they will use the activity and in others, an adult takes the lead.

Your child will be learning skills, acquiring new knowledge and demonstrating understanding through 7 areas of learning and development. Children should mostly develop the 3 prime areas first. These are: Communication and Language Physical Development Personal, Social and Emotional Development. These prime areas are essential for your child’s healthy development and future learning. As children grow, the prime areas will help them to develop skills in 4 specific areas. These are: Literacy Mathematics Understanding the World Expressive Arts and Design. These 7 areas are used to plan your child’s learning and activities. The staff supporting your child will make sure the activities are suited to your child’s unique needs.

For more information on what to expect the in the Early Years Foundation Stage, then please click on the link below.

What to expect in the Early Years Foundation Stage

Communication Friendly Setting

Communication and language is at the core of everything we do and we are passionate about providing the best opportunities and environment for all children that come through our doors. We have achieved the nationally accredited ‘Communication Friendly Setting for 2-4s’ status. Our two Lead Communication Practitioners are Miss Emma Stanley and Mrs Lisa Johnson.

Speech Development

Please follow this link for tips on speech development in early years.